Running-gear for electric locomotives.



G. H. DOWNS.

RUNNING GEAR FOR ELECTRIC LOGOMOTIVES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13, 1908. 1,006,731 Patented 001. 24, 1911.

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G. H. DOWNS. RUNNING GEAR FOR ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES.

APPLICATION FILED NOVIIS, 1908. 1,006,731. ,Patented 001. 24, 1911.

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RUNNING GEAR FOR ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES.

v APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13, 1908. 1,006,731, Patented Oct. 24, 1911.

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GEORGE E. DOWNS, OF PORTLAND, OREGON, ASSIGNOR F ONE-HALF WILL W GRACE, OF PORTLAND, OREGONf RUNNING-GEAR FOR ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES.

' Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Oct. 241, 19111.

Application filed November 1a, 1908. Serial no. 462,479.

and State of'Oregon, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Running-Gear for Electric Locomotives, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings as constituting a part thereof. I

This invention relates to the construction of electriclocomotives of the self-generating type, that is to say, which are inde endent of a trolley wire, or third rail, and, Instead, f

are provided with a primary engine, such, for example, as some type of gas engine, the

I power of which is applied for drivin a dynamo, and the latter generating the e ectromotive force for driving the wheelmotors. The reason for such conversion of force is the well known fact that all engines which depend upon periodic explosions for their motlve power, must be driven at a very high speed, in order to transmit. eflicient: power, and therefore do not allow properj control. But one of the difficulties hereto=5 fore met within the construction of electric fl locomotives of the class with which my invention is concerned was, the providing of sufficient room for installing the power gen- 1 crating and convertin devices, and this dif ficulty was particular y apparent when the locomotive was required to run on longroutes.

Therefore, my invention'may be said to have for its general purposes: to provide ample room for all the contrivances required to'be assembled within the housing of the locomotive, and to adapt the locomotive to travel easily over the shortest curves of the road. And this invention further has for its ob'ect to obtain arunning gear which is especia 1y suitable for the particular type of driving means for electric locomotives contemporaneously invented by me, and const-ituting the subject of another application for Letters Patent. I

I achieve the objects enumerated by the combination and arrangement of the parts herein specifically set forth.

In the drawings :Figure- 1 is a longi tudinal section of a locomotive car-body and its running gear embodying my invention Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section, on a larger scale, of the front end of the car-body, and

front elevation of one of said chock-blocks; Fig. 5 is a top view of the wheel-truck shown in Fig. 2, an agreeing in scale with the latter, the superposed car-body of the locomotive being lndlcated in dotted outline;,Fig. 6 is a cross-section on line ar-a: of Fig. 1, and Fig. 7 is a cross-section on line y-y of Fig. 1; Figs. 6 and 7 being drawn on a larger scale and showing more particularly the cross-section constructed of the frame of the car-body; Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section showing a modificatioirofthe construction of my wheel-trucks whereby the locomotive is adapted to run in either direction, without turning the locomotive around; and Fig.

9 is a detail of a removable bar extending across the sliding doors at the sides of the car-body, and constitutinga part of the frame thereof.

Referring now to the letters in the several views: The car-body comprises a floorframe built. of girders, and the central portion, a, of the body is dropped below the plane of its two ends a, a so as to alford at the middle part of the car-body a larger space, for the accommodation of lar er sized dynamos e. The girders of the b0 y-frame are bent down at the center" to provide for the drop-floor of the middle portion of the car-body. The girders a at the sides of the car-body on the level of thefloors of the body-ends a, a donot extend across the enlarged central portion, a, of the car-body, but have connecting arts a, secured by bolts (see Fig. 9) an removable to admit the arger pieces of machinery. The carbody is provided at the sides with sliding doors 17. The removable girder-pieces (1*,

when bolted in place, serve as trusses for the connected ends of the floor girders a.

In the front end of the-car-body isprovideda space for an oil-tank b,and at the vertically mounted on the front end of each wheel-truck; Fig. 4 is a its ends on pivotal bearings. The wheeltrucks, h, 2', represent a common type of construction, but they have each a projecting portion, 71,, i, rearward of which the driving wheels are journaled, and under which projecting portion is pivoted a bogie-truck,

j, is, preferably each having four wheels 7/ the frame of the wheel-trucks is a pivotal or center bearing 1, of the usual construction, and on such center bearing rests a bolster m, which is provided with longitudinally extended bracket-like portions n, n, so as to provide an efiicient support for the ends of the car-body supported by the wheeltrucks.

At the front end of the frame of each wheel-truck is vertically mounted a chockblock, 0, a front elevation of which is seen in Fig. 4; and such chock block is preferably provided with friction-wheels p, journaled in cavities therefor provided in the head of the chock-block, the journal-pins p being journaled, at their lower ends, in the body of the chock'block, and the upper ends of the journal-pins being journaled in a plate 9. Said friction-wheels are of such diameter that the lateral faces thereof will project through the faces of the chock-block, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5.

Fastened to the bottom of the car ends,

' above the chock-blocks, are bulk-heads r,

which consist of head-plates 8, each having lateral members 8, walls at, t, spaced apart so as to provide an intermediate groove into which projects the head or top of the chockblock 0 and webs, u, connect the walls 2., t with the lateral projections s ,of the headplate 8. The details of said construction are readily observed by having reference to Figs. 2 and 3. v

The purpose of the chock-blocks on the wheel-trucks, and the cooperating bulkheads fastened above the same to the under side of the car-body, is to relieve the strain imposed on the center bearings or pivotal connectionsof the wheel-truck with the carbody, in case of sudden stops, or collision with obstructions on the track, and reducethe probability of injury of said pivotal connectlons. The bulk-heads and chock-blocks, in fact, constitute supplemental connecting mediums between the car-body and the wheel-trucks supporting the same by its ends.

Located approximately at the center of The parts shown, but not-particularly described, are of the usual construction.

The axles v of the driving wheels w are journaled in journal-boxes, have vertical play, and are connected by equalizing devices e; the construction being substantially the same as that of the standard running gear of steam locomotives.

In the modification shown in Fig. 8, I have shown a wheel-truckwhich is adapted to be used on locomotives designed to run in either direction, without being turned around on a turn table. The frame of the wheel-truck 20 is made with two projecting ends 20*, 20, under each of which are pivoted bogie trucks 21, 22. And the locomotive, when built of this type, would be provided with a pilot, 23, and a draw-bar, 24, at both ends. Each of the projecting portions 20, 20 is provided with a chock-block 0, 0', of the same construction as above described, and under the car-body there are provided cooperating bulk-heads 1', 1*.

In order not to make the wheel-truck of too great a length, only two driving wheels have been introduced in the design of running gear shown in Fig. 8.

I claim:

1. The combination of a car-body having a middle portion, the floor of whichis dropped below the plane of the two ends, for the purpose specified, wheel-trucks, and

pivotal bearings thereon, supporting the car- 7 body at its ends, a chock-block mounted vertically on the front end of each wheel-truck, said chock-block being curved on a radius of the pivotal center of the wheel-truck, bulk-heads secured under the ends of the car-body, above said chock-blocks, said bulkheads having grooves curved on the same radius as said chock-blocks, and the latter projecting into said grooves.

2. The combination of a car-body having a middle portion, the floor of which is dropped below the plane of the ewo ends, for the purpose specified, wheel-trucks, and pivotal bearings thereon, supporting the car-body at its ends, a chock-block mounted vertically on the front end of each wheel-truck, said chock-block being curved on a radius of the pivotal center of the wheel-truck, bulk-heads secured under the ends of the car-body, above said chock-blocks, saidbulk-heads consisting of a head-plate, curved pendent parallel walls, spaced apart to provide an intermediate groove, lateral members on the headplate, and webs connecting said lateral members with said curved walls, said wall-members being curved on the same radius as the chock-block, which projects into said groove of the bulk-head.

3. The combination of a car-bady having a middle portion, the floor of which is dropped below the plane of the two ends, for the purpose specified, wheel-trucks, and pivotal bearings thereon, supporting the ear-body at its ends, a chock-block mounted vertically .on the front end of each wheel-truck, said chock-block being curved on a radius of the spaced apart to provide an intermediate groove, lateral members on the head-plate, and webs connecting said lateral members with said curved walls; said wall-members being curved on the same radius as the chock-block, which projects into said groove of the bulk-head.

4. The combination of a car-body having a middle portion, the floor of which is dropped below the plane of the two, ends,

for the purpose specified, wheel-trucks, and pivotal bearings thereon, supporting the carbody at its ends, said wheel-trucks compris-.,

ing a frame, driving wheels journaled therein at the rear end of the frame, and a bogie truck and wheels pivoted under the front end of the truck-frame.

5. The combination of a car-body having a middle portion, the floor of which is dropped below the plane of the two ends, for the purpose specified, wheel-trucks, and pivotal bearings thereon, supporting the carbody at its ends, said wheel-trucks comprising a frame, driving wheels journaled there'- in at the rear end pf the frame, and a bogie truck and wheels pivoted under the front end of the truck-frame, a chock-block mounted vertically on the front end of each wheeltruck, said chock-block being curved on a radius of the pivotal center of the wheeltruck, and bulk-heads secured under the ends of the car-body, above said chock-blocks, said bulk-heads having grooves curved on the same radius assaid chock-blocks, and the latterproj'ecting into said grooves.

6. The combination of a car-body having a middle portion, .the floor of which is dropped below the plane of the two ends,-for

the purpose specified, wheel-trucks, and pivotal bearings thereon, supporting the car body. at its ends, said wheel-trucks comprising a frame, driving wheels journaled therein at the rear end of the frame, and a bogie truck and wheels pivoted under the front end of thetruck-frame, a chock-block mounted vertically on the front end of each wheeltruck, said chock-block being curved on a radius of the pivotal center of" the wheeltruck, bulk-heads secured under the ends of the car-body, above'said chock-blocks, said bulk-heads consistihg of a head-plate, curved pendentparallel walls, spaced apart to provide an intermediate groove, lateral meml bers on the head-plate,'and webs connecting said lateral members with said curved walls; said wall-members being curved on the same radius as the chock-block, which projects into said groove of the bulk-head. 1

7. The combination of a car-body having a middle portion, the floor of which is drop ed below the plane of the two ends, fort e purpose specified, wheel-trucks, and pivotal bearings thereon, supporting the .carbody at its ends, said wheel-trucks comprising a frame, driving wheels journaled therein at the rear end of the frame, and a bogie truck and wheels pivoted under the front end of the truck-frame, a chock-block mounted a vertically on the front end of each wheeltruck, said chock-block being curved on a radius of the pivotal center of the wheel truck, friction wheels journaled in said chock-blocks, the bearing faces of which projeet" beyond the faces of the chock-blocks, bulk-heads secured under the ends of the car body, above said chock-blocks, said bulk-V heads consisting of a head-plate; curved pendent parallel walls, spaced apart to provide an intermediate groove, lateral members on the head-plate, and webs connecting said lateral members with saidcurved walls; said wall-members bein curved on the same radius as the choc -block, which projects into said groove of the bulk-head.

8'. The combination with a car-body and the wheel-truck. pivotally supporting thesame, of a chock-block mounted vertically on the front end of the wheel-truck, said chock- 1 same, of a chock-block mounted vertically 'on the front end of the wheel-truck, said chock-block being curved on a radius of the i:

pivotal center of the wheel-truck, and a bulkhead secured under the car-body, above said chock-block, said. chock-block comprising pendent walls curved on the same radius as said chock-block, and being spaced apart, 1

v and the chock-blocks projecting between said walls of the bulk-head.

10. In a locomotivejcom rising a body, the

floor at the middle part c which is dropped below the plane of the two ends thereof, doors inthe sides of the car-body at the center, and wheel-trucks pivotallyisupporting the car at its ends, the combination of a floor-frame comprising a series of longitudinal girders dropped at the center of the carbody to a lower plane, and removableflgirderpieces arranged on a level with the upper floor level and connecting the floor-girders of the ends of the car-body, said girder pieces serving as trusses for the car ends,

ing wheels journaled in such trucks, and bogie trucks pivoted at one end of the main and being removable so as to clear the whole trucks.

door openings when required.

11. In a car body, the combination of a frame made with a drop center, main trucks pivoted under both ends of the frame, driv- GEORGE H. DOWNS. Witnesses:

CECIL LONG, T. J. GEISLER. 

